The Wye & Usk Passport 
History of the Passport Scheme
Such was the demand to fish the Wye that in the mid 20th century it was a case of "Dead Men’s Shoes". Beats had high capital values and anglers paid handsomely to fish the better ones. The pressure on catching fish was also high - all methods were used and beats seemed to accommodate many more rods than they do today. In addition, ghillies were employed to ensure catches remained high.
When the salmon runs collapsed in the early '90s, it was sudden and dramatic for all except the lower beats. Lots of fishing of all sorts suddenly became available but there was no means of putting anglers in touch with it. In 2003 we contacted all the fishing hotels on the upper Wye and found only one who was able to locate a day's fishing for our enquirer.
In order to secure EU funds for river restoration work, it was essential to show that the work benefitted the rural economy, either with direct employment or by boosting incomes. We needed a scheme that did this and also enabled us to calculate the extent of the benefits. The launch of pHish and some post foot and mouth funding to get visitors back to Powys were the drivers that created the 'Upper Wye Passport' in 2003. The name? Blame the Director!
WHIP, our first project, gave us the opportunity to market recreated trout fisheries and by combining neighbouring farmers' ownerships we were able to make beats of a worthwhile size. This gave the farmers some real incentive to look after the tributary concerned. Many also had B&Bs that could be filled by anglers during the less popular months of the year. Our first Roving Voucher beats were on the Edw, Clettwr and Duhonw streams. Simplicity was the important factor: fishers bought vouchers, posted them in the beat box and enjoyed a day of wild trout fishing. Later we added fisheries on the main river, giving rise to the "Booking Office". Then came the Usk, Lugg, Arrow and Monnow to make up the enlarged "Wye & Usk Passport."
In 2007, The Rural Enhancement Scheme funded fisheries infrastructure improvements in Herefordshire. We added another 35 fisheries including, for the first time, coarse fishing on the middle/lower Wye. We then built an online facility making out-of-hours bookings possible. A gauge on a webcam heralded a novel way of showing just what the water conditions were. Now there are 10 of them.
In the first year 2003, 13 main Wye and tributary beats generated a modest £1,845 in fishing sales. By 2010, 116 fisheries earned £145,000 in fishing sales. This year we will have over 140 fisheries on board, including some outside the Wye and Usk and some of the area’s top still waters. We calculate the Passport to be worth over £1 million annually for the rural economy and to cover its running costs.
How it works
The Passport is made up of two distinct elements:
Our "Roving Voucher" scheme focuses on the opening up of new wild trout fisheries created by our habitat work on the tributaries while our "Booking Office" (telephone and online) has been created to take day, week and season rod reservations for salmon, trout, grayling & coarse fishing on the more established fisheries.
We act as a focal point enabling people to get fishing with the minimum of fuss. At the same time, farmers and landowners have an economic incentive to look after the rivers and support the various initiatives that improve them.
The Passport offers a huge variety of fantastic water. Please click on the image below to request your free copy of the Passport brochure. See "WUF River Reports" section for all the news so far this season and the "Anglers Feedback and Reports" for news on what's being caught and where.
Fishing the Wye & Usk
The Wye fishing in the last century was very salmon orientated. Apart from a handful of the tributaries and some stretches of upper main river, little was mentioned about trout and almost nothing at all about the superb grayling fishing, which continues throughout the autumn and winter. Wye coarse fishing has always been excellent, particularly downstream of Glasbury where the river is host to a range of species. Big chub and pike and the highly prized barbel are all common while dace, perch, roach and even bream are also found here.
The Usk, on the other hand, has always been as well known for its brown trout as well as good salmon runs and occasional sea trout. The trout fishing is some of the best in the country and if you want a wild fish of over 2lbs from a freestone river, the Usk is the place to come. The last few years have seen resurgence in the upwing fly hatches to go with the summer sedges. There has been a corresponding increase in the average size, now near the 1lb mark. Catches of 20 to 30 trout during the Large dark olive and March brown hatches in spring are now commonplace, followed by consistent fishing to sedges and Blue winged olives during the summer. In addition to its heavy runs of summer salmon and grilse, the Usk also has a decent spring run of salmon that peaks in May, a fast improving sea trout run, and some good coarse fishing below Abergavenny.
For more information on salmon, trout, grayling and coarse fishing, please see The Fish.
All the information needed for a visit to the Wye or Usk – accommodation with fishing, a list of other recommended accommodation, pubs, tackle shops, guides/instructors – is given in The Fishing section of our website. When fishing any of the waters in the Passport, anglers must be aware of and abide by Environment Agency bylaws.
We look forward to welcoming you to these two wonderful rivers.
WUF projects that have supported the Passport
